An Endless Road
by Twisted Reckoning
Summary: The work of a hero is never done. Link's sword will once again deal the evil of the world sweet kisses of death. He's ready. But this upcoming dark lord cannot simply be bested in battle, and the Hero of Light will have to use every skill he possesses, and enlist the help of many different friends- some old and some new- to overcome this evil.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Well, here's to the start of my first LoZ story here on FF. I hope y'all like it. This story does have OCs in it, and may eventually have a Link/OC pairing or an OC/OC pairing. For now however, I leave you to the story and encourage you to give me some feedback here whether it be good, bad, or ugly.**_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own LoZ, any of its characters of ideas, only the OCs and my fragments of plot. _**

* * *

"I'm scared..."

He couldn't believe how small the voice was, or how weak. Then again, being stabbed wasn't the thing to liven a person. She lay behind him, cringing as steel rang on steel, crying in time with the _schlick_ of his blade into the heart of a monster. The creature hissed its last breath and crumpled, purple blood draining into the dirt. Two more materialized from the thick shadows.

"Just hang on," Link gritted between his teeth, parrying the monsters' strokes.

Sweat rolled down his face, into his eyes mingled with blood from a cut on his forehead, and blurred his vision. The girl whimpered behind him, her breaths heavy as he could only imagine the waves of pain that must have been wracking her small body. The monsters tried charging him, but were dispatched with a swift spin attack. Cut deeply across the belly, the monsters staggered backward, their innards falling out in steaming heaps and tripping them as their lives poured out. Link turned, breathing heavily, and advanced on the pitiful creature.

"They're dead now," he tried to comfort her, kneeling. "It's okay."

The girl breathed a deep sigh and unraveled herself from the protective ball she had curled into. Blood still oozed from the center of her right shoulder, but the hero hoped the wound was not deep. Link didn't pay much attention to her face as he picked her up, though from the struggling sniffles he heard from the girl, her cheeks would be tear streaked terribly.

"W-Who are you?" the girl asked, pulling her head away from his chest.

He looked down into her big, troubled eyes. "My name's Link."

* * *

The surroundings were warm, almost stifling. The sweet smell of dried herbs and a wood fire worked their way into the girl's troubled senses. She felt surprisingly good. Her limbs ached, but it was a dull pain, like the light throb of her head. She shifted, and slowly opened her eyes. There was a pull, and a sharp pain shot through her arm and shoulder. The girl hissed softly and used her left arm to push up.

She was in a small, stuffy, hospital like room. Herbs hung on wallhooks, strange pots sat on shelves, and a steaming cauldron hung over a fire in the hearth. A small girl sat in a chair on one side of the room, and she stood when she saw the wounded woman and rushed over.

"You're awake at last," the girl smiled, checking the bandages that were wrapped tightly around her patient's arm. "Wait here, I'll fetch my father."

Before the woman could get a word in edgewise, the girl was out the door. Several minutes later the girl re-entered, followed by a tall, older man with a stern, patriarchal countenance. They locked eyes for a moment before the woman lowered hers in respect.

"How are you feeling today?" The man asked, kneeling beside her cot.

"Bet-ter," her voice cracked, "better than before, sir."

As the man unwound the bandages and inspected the healing wound, he explained to her. "A friend of this village brought you here last night, after saving you from monsters in the field. I am Renado. My daughter, Luda, and I have been taking care of you."

The woman nodded, remembering a mysterious warrior coming to her rescue. She looked up at Renado, seeking more answers, answers to questions she knew not how to voice. The man's kind eyes settled her anxiety.

"What is your name, child?" Renado asked as he wound the bandage tightly around her shoulder as it was before.

The girl hesitated, until a voice seemed to whisper in her ear, _Arcadia_. "Arcadia," the name was familiar as it rolled off her tongue, but it didn't seem right. Still, she looked confidently up at Renado and repeated the word.

"Welcome to Kakariko Village, Arcadia. Luda, fetch our guest something to eat."

The girl ran off to do her father's bidding.

"Is... Link still in the village?" Arcadia hoped she remembered his name correctly, and was rewarded with a small nod.

"He passed the night here. When Luda returns, I will send her to find him for you."

Luda returned quickly, bearing a tray. She gave Arcadia a large bowl of a spicy smelling stew, and a loaf of thick bread. On a bedside table she placed a glass of milk. When her father ordered her to find the hero, Luda left the room without a word. Arcadia watched the girl leave, then stared at the food in her lap, waiting permission to eat. When there was no word spoken, she looked up, only to find that Renado was staring out of the only window in the room. Arcadia took a tentative mouthful of stew and closed her eyes in wonder. The taste exploded on her tongue; thick, heady chunks of meat, herbs akin to cilantro and garlic, the tang of citrus, and the burn of hot peppers mixed together to create a South-Westerner's dream. The bread was warm and soft, and soaked the stew up quickly to create a soggy, delicious mess. When the fire of the peppers started to burn more than warm her tongue, she took a deep draught of the rich milk. Dinner was never so glorious as this one meal.

The door opened. Renado turned and greeted the young man who entered. The newcomer was a head shorter than the medicine man, and more lithely built. He was lean muscle and willowy, with a young face. His golden hair was short, kept out of his way by a long green hat. Arcadia put her bowl and bread to the side and stood on trembling legs.

"You're Link?" she asked in her small voice.

"I am."

"Arcadia," she greeted, stretching out a hand. "I owe you my life for savin' me."

Link shook her hand firmly and smiled, but shook his head modestly at her proclamation.

"I seem to remember you putting up a bit of a fight yourself, before they stabbed you," Link stated, nodding at the long, sheathed knife that sat piled with her clothes from the day before.

Arcadia saw the knife and frowned deeply, lowering her gaze in shame. "Didn't do much. I lost that fight before it started."

"It's dangerous out there at night."

The girl kept her eyes lowered and retrieved her bowl of stew, stirring the chunks around with her spoon. Long strands of hair the same shade of gold as his own fell beside her face and down her back. Her face might once have been round and pretty to some degree. But her cheeks now were hollow and sunburnt, peeling over her cheekbones. Her button nose was bright red, though it contrasted little with the pink of her face. She raised her eyes. They were a cloudy grey-blue and shining with an insatiable hunger, standing out harshly from the warm hue of her face. Her face, and indeed the slight proportions of her body, betrayed privation.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" Link asked, pulling up a chair near Arcadia's cot. Renado had excused himself long before.

Arcadia thought hard, furrowing her brow. "I reckon not..."

"Can I ask where you're from?" Link had a sneaking suspicion that the girl couldn't hardly remember who she was, much less where she was from.

She was hesitating, fidgeting with the spoon in her left hand. "I'm supposed to know..." her voice now was brittle.

In the back of her mind she knew the place, but not its name. It was an unreachable destination, across vast seas, through space, or even through the gates of hell. Link frowned, afraid his prediction was true. Deep creases appeared on Arcadia's forehead and around her eyes as she shook her head with slow sorrow. Link was unsure of how to comfort the stranger.

"You should rest for the day," he finally said. "Finish eating and rest. Tomorrow I'll take you to Hyrule Castle."

Arcadia's head shot up, her eyes wide. "Castle?"

Link smiled and nodded, though in the back of his mind he wondered how she could have missed the towering structure. "It's about a full days' ride away from here. I have to report those monsters to Princess Zelda."

So the creatures weren't commonplace. But the hero before her had handled them with the ease of a master.

"It's a long story," Link explained. "But there haven't been monsters in Hyrule for two years. The fact that they're starting to appear now means that something bad must have happened. Someone is trying to take control. We have to prepare for the defense of the kingdom."

He let the girl digest that information, and could feel himself transforming already- fixing himself into the mindset of the Hero of the Twilight. He looked at Arcadia. Though she had been carrying a weapon she was useless against the bokoblins, and they were to be the least of the kingdom's worries. Her best bet would be to stay in the castle, or else find her way to the far reaches of the kingdom, where the war would be less fierce.

"Try to remember everything you can before then, alright?" Link asked. She looked up and held his gaze.

"I'll do my best." Link stood and crossed over to the door. "Will you come back here later?" she asked before he left the room.

With the door half-open, Link looked back at the girl. "We'll see."

The door closed with a soft tap, and Arcadia was alone again. She stood shakily, ignoring her steadily growing headache and the sharp pain in her shoulder. She took a glance out the window. Kakariko was a dusty little town, with one lane splitting it in half. On either side of the wide road was a menagerie of shops and homes. Few people were on the street in the heat of day. On the far side of town there was a spring that shone bright in the sunlight. With nothing more to watch but the heat waves rising form various buildings or rocks, Arcadia turned back into the room and returned to her cot. The stew was cold now, and the milk lukewarm. They sat heavily in her stomach.

* * *

Link made his way to where Epona was being kept. The huge beast greeted him warmly, trotting quickly over with her nostrils flaring. Epona nuzzled Link's chest, making him scratch her neck and comb through her mane as she searched his person for sweets. Link revealed an apple he had saved from his breakfast and let the mare take a large chunk out of it, pulling the rest away. While her jaws worked the fruit into a mass of pulp, the hero checked the strength of her muscles, the healthy shine of her eyes and coat. The mare wasn't so young anymore, but she was still strong and healthy. She could carry him faithfully for another journey.

"This'll be the last, my friend," Link promised, looking into Epona's warm honey eyes.

The mare breathed warm, sweet breaths into his face, tickling his cheeks and nose with the hairs of her muzzle. Link laughed heartily and relinquished the rest of his apple to his friend. Crunching behind him, Epona followed Link into her small stable while the youth checked her tack. Her ears perked as he grabbed her saddle, but he didn't move to settle the heavy leather throne on her back. Rather, Link slung the saddle over the corral rails, and returned to the stable for the bridle, saddle bags, and blanket. The well-crafted leather winked at the lad in the noon sun. Pulling a kerchief from a pocket Link set about shining the tack, checking its wear as he did. When the objects gleamed like polished copper, he stood back and eyed the tough-woven saddle blanket. It was heavy with dirt, and burrs clung around the edges. Epona snorted in what could have been taken easily for either amusement or disdain as she watched her young master take a hefty limb to the blanket, relieving it of its load.

Link heard footsteps and looked up to see Renado crossing over to him. The medicine man smiled a bit at the boy, who's features were caked in a thin layer of dust. Link ran a hand through his hair, loosening the dirt, and lightly dropped the thick stick he'd previously been beating against the saddle blanket.

"Preparing, young hero?"

"Yes, have to make sure the old girl will hold out," Link smiled and nodded back to Epona, who cropped idly at a clump of grasses nearby.

"She will service you well. What of yourself? Are you well equipped?" Renado asked.

Link briefly touched the hilt of his sword protruding from his left shoulder and nodded solemnly.

"It will be a long journey," Renado predicted, looking far past the ties of Kakariko to a place only he could see. "Luda will see that you are well enough provisioned to the castle, so that you do not go hungry tomorrow

"Thanks, Renado," Link smiled, heartily shaking the wise man's hand. "You're a good friend."

Renado mirrored Link's expression, then turned to look down the lane.

"I send you my best wishes, Link. May I ask your help with our wounded ally?" Link wondered why his friend needed any help with the girl, but followed anyway.

Arcadia had thought herself to sleep, trying to piece together fragments of pictures, snatches of voices. She came up largely empty-handed from her efforts, sporting only an overwhelming headache. She now walked sun-dappled paths in a dreamworld, a woman singing incoherently somewhere voice blocked out the quiet sound of the door shutting. The feeling of the earth beneath her bare feet and the sun shining down on her face and shoulders obscured the feeling of her bandages being unwound. Through the hazy dream her sleeping self strode aimlessly through, she suddenly felt a debilitating jolt. Her eyes snapped open, and a high, guttural shriek ripped out of her throat. The initial feeling lessened just barely, and there was a pause, during which the terrible burn festered in her now throbbing shoulder. Then the white-hot flash occurred again.

"Sweet mother ha' mercy!" she screamed, eyes wide but vision blurred with tears and spotty with pain.

She could vaguely make out the large form of Renado standing over her right side. Through the smoldering agony, she felt a weight pressing down on her, and saw the slighter shadow of Link. The young man was holding her bodily to the cot as the previously discovered instrument of torture prodded her shoulder again, and again, and again. Arcadia's screeches were cut into choking gasps reminiscent of sharp hiccups, then were further divided into short and silent intakes. Finally they gave out, though her chest still heaved and her lips still, trembling, weaved silent words of woe.

Link looked down with pity at the creature. "What did you do?"

"The wound was developing an infection. With any luck that salve will kill it before it can spread," Renado replied, applying a salve to the reddened gash.

"What was it?" Link asked, waving a hand in front of the girl's unmoving eyes. She gave a tiny, shuddering moan.

Renado didn't answer, continuing his administrations. He looked impassively at the tears streaming down his patient's face. He knew that the treatment was painful. It was supposed to be, and so he had little comfort to give. Link lifted himself gingerly from the girl's shoulder. She closed her eyes, willing the stray tears to stop, and shifted herself so that the medicine man could rewrap her shoulder with little difficulty. Her thin cheeks were flushed with pain and the embarrassment of screaming so pitifully.

When Renado left, Link remained, pulling up a chair like he did before and waiting for the shocked girl to come to her senses. She stared blankly at the closed door, perhaps devising a plan against Renado for the harsh wake up. Link gave a tiny chuckle at the thought. Arcadia started briefly at the sound, then huffed.

"Well... That was..." She huffed again and turned to look at Link.

"Sorry about that. But Renado said that would keep it from getting infected," Link gave an apologetic grin.

The girl was silent, staring almost cross-eyed to see the spot on her shoulder where the bandages were thickest. Her nose twitched.

"Were you able to remember anything?" Link asked after a long silence.

"No names, no faces. Mostly shapes, and landscapes. Sometimes a voice... Nothing much, I don't suppose."

Link frowned. "That's a shame." He thought briefly. "What about before the bokoblins attacked? Do you remember anything?"

Arcadia fiddled with her middle finger, then looked down as if something was missing. "I remember the sun spinning. Two days. Then I was able to move again. I didn't know where to go. The heat played tricks on me."

Link frowned. Something wasn't right. "What about the monsters?"

"Those first two days, nothing disturbed me. On the third, they lingered just out of range... Those big blue ones attacked on the fourth. There were birds too, but they showed little interest..."

Link's frown deepened. Bokoblins weren't typically intelligent enough to keep themselves from charging a helpless victim when they saw one. That they would sit in wait for a day before attacking was disturbing. Arcadia gave no more information, sitting silent and still now. She wouldn't give him anything else, he knew.

"Somethin's troubling you."

Her voice was almost inaudible, but when Link looked up to see if his ears had deceived him, her hungry eyes were boring into his own. Link pondered voicing his worries on the sudden spike of bokoblin intelligence, but didn't want to worry the fragile girl unnecessarily.

"It's a bit... uncharacteristic... for the bokoblins to not attack immediately," he simply explained.

Arcadia pondered for a moment. "Guess I'm lucky they waited then."

Link wondered if she had always been so quiet, or if her silence was a side effect of her recent experiences. She offered no more conversation, so he stood.

"I should let you rest. It'll be an early start in the morning."

Arcadia rose and shook his hand in farewell.

"Luda should bring you travelling clothes soon. She's also packing food for tomorrow- it'll be a full day's ride to the castle, after all."

"I'll be ready."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Here y'all go, chapter two is here. Kind thanks to those that reviewed the first chapter already, and continued thanks for those who continue to do so. I hope y'all enjoy, and if you have any feedback to give then send it on down the line.**_

* * *

Link was awake an hour before dawn. He fed Epona, then found his own breakfast. Returning to the stables half an hour later he found Epona ready and waiting. She perked up when he tossed the saddle blanket over her, and nudged the boy fondly as he turned to grab her saddle. As he tightened the girth, Luda appeared from the Sanctuary. She carried his saddlebags in one hand, and had a bundle bunched under her opposite arm.

"My father sends his regards. He cannot be here to see you off, I'm afraid," the girl smiled.

Link thanked her gratefully and settled the saddlebags in their place.

"I've packed water and food for the day, and some bandages and herbs... should you run into any trouble." The last statement came quiet and worried, and the man felt the prying gaze of the healer's child. She would make a good nurse when she was grown.

"Thank you, Luda. You're a good-hearted girl," Link praised. He then gestured to the bundle. "What are those?"

Luda shifted so that the stack was in her arms as she explained. "I found some traveling clothes for Arcadia, and a formal dress that may fit for your audience with the Princess. I'm taking them to her now, actually."

Link nodded, checking Epona over once more before grabbing her bridle off of a wall hook. "I'll come for her when I have Epona ready."

Arcadia was awake, and the inn keeper had brought her a bowl of oatmeal. The woman looked up from her bowl when the door opened and smiled at Luda.

"Hello, Luda."

"Hello, Arcadia." Luda stretched out her arms and handed over the bundle of clothes. "I'm hoping these will fit you. The clothes you arrived in were... unsalvageable."

Arcadia nodded, understanding. "Thank you very much. You've been such a wonderful host. I'm very grateful."

Luda gave a small smile at the praise. "You are most welcome, Link will be here soon to fetch you. It would be wise to dress quickly and make yourself ready. Safe travels."

With that, the dark headed child was gone. Arcadia unfolded the clothing. Luda had brought a muted grey shirt and travelling skirt with intertwining red and blue embroidery, and a pair of boots that looked like they might have been too small. In addition to the travelling clothes, the girl had supplied a thick woolen cloak and rich dark and light blue, full length dress. These items were refolded and tied with the same black ribbon that had previously bound them. There was a knock at the door.

"Just a minute!" Arcadia called, and finished throwing on the travelling clothes.

Grabbing the bundle in one hand and the boots in another, the girl stepped stiffly over to the door and opened it.

"Are you ready?" Link asked with a small smile.

The girl watched his eyes dart from the slightly uncomfortable expression on her face, to her stiff and slowly burning left shoulder, and back to her face. "Yes sir," she smiled gently.

Link led her out of the inn, a hand steadying her left arm a bit unsurely as she stiffly descended the steps leading down into the lobby, and further out onto the predawn streets of Kakariko. When she missed a step, his grip tightened slightly, and it seemed both were uncomfortable with the other's touch. They didn't know each other; they didn't have anything in common; they couldn't find anything to say to one another. They were strangers, plain and simple.

"Are you afraid of horses?" Link asked as he led Arcadia to Epona's stables.

"Don't seem to be," was the quiet reply. "But I reckon we'll find out soon enough."

Epona snuffed the stranger curiously, sensitive nostrils flaring as her ears flicked with every new and compelling scent. Arcadia touched a gentle hand between the horse's eyes and looked deep into the golden pools. The horse seemed to be reading the girl's soul. With a rumbling nicker, Epona allowed this golden-haired stranger to scratch her neck and comb through her mane. Link smiled, grateful that his traveling companion met Epona's standards, and then mounted. He extended a hand to help Arcadia up.  
She hesitated. The beast was massive and powerful, but would it reject the extra weight? Could she hold her seat the long miles to Hyrule Castle? The horse's demeanor hadn't changed yet, and so she took the offered hand and hoisted herself into the saddle. The action, though initiated with her left, unwounded arm, caused a flame of pain to go through the right. She hissed, but clenched her teeth to silence the sound.

"Are you ready?" Link asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I-I think so," Arcadia stammered nervously, feeling the horse shifting between her thighs.

"You shouldn't be nervous," Link reprimanded gently, turning Epona around slowly and nudging her into a walk. "You'll make Epona anxious if you're tense like that."

Arcadia took a shaky breath and released it, and forced herself to calm down. Link let Epona's pace quicken to a light trot, and felt the light pull of a nervous hand fisting at his tunic. Gradually her grip lessened as they rode out of town and down the winding path toward Hyrule Fields.

"Do you remember ever riding a horse?" Link asked when the fingers in his tunic were loose enough to fall away.

"... No, I guess not. It's a nice feeling though. Almost free."

Link understood the statement perfectly. The feeling of rushing across Hyrule field with the wind coursing by and the sun smiling down on a peaceful earth was pure bliss. Before the war against Twilight, he and Epona would surge through the paddock out at Fado's ranch, and even when he was questing the man would occasionally take ten minutes just to let his troubles ease by with the west wind. Midna would always bring him back though, before responsibility was relinquished to the same beckoning wind. He suddenly wanted to gallop, to experience the freedom.

"It's like flying," Link told the girl behind him, anticipation rising in his gut.

Arcadia hesitantly wrapped an arm around his waist, and Epona was urged into a lope. Her other hand slid around and she clasped onto herself with her teeth clenched.

"Ha!"

Link was right. Epona was flying, gaining power from the rushing air into her lungs. A peal of delighted laughter rang from behind Link's left ear and he smiled. He could find common ground like this. The ride wouldn't be so formal and uncomfortable, and the ill-fortuned girl could know a kind spirit, if not a friend in this strange world. After a few moments of exhilaration, Link reined in the mare. They both chuckled, the girl withdrawing her grip and taking a fistful of the back of his tunic. She didn't speak of the angry throb of her shoulder, though Link knew the gallop did little to help it. The sun was fixed high in its cradle, chasing away the shadows of the day.  
High overhead, Kargaroks soared on thermals, looking down at horse and riders hungrily. There were three of them, swooping ever lower in their airy playground. Link eyed them darkly, searching intently for any strange actions. Without warning, all three dropped from the sky, spiralling down with talons outstretched. Link's stomach dropped and Arcadia fought back a scream. The warrior cursed under his breath and spurred Epona harshly. He didn't have his bow, only the sword slung over his shoulder. If he let the monstrous birds get within sword-range, he and the girl would suffer.  
Link knew it was useless to try and outpace the large denizens of the sky. He spurred Epona on faster, however, intent to put some ground between them and their pursuers. Epona galloped several lengths before the bird creatures slacked, and Link lengthened the gap. His agile mind was trying to work through their predicament when he spied his chance. Epona made such a hard left that her back legs all but slid around as Link urged her behind an outcrop of boulders. The Kargaroks, still thankfully to ignorant to understand quite what had happened and wheel after their prey, paused in their flight.

"Press yourself against the rocks!" Link commanded, leaping from the saddle and landing with his sword already flashing and shield held strongly in his left arm.

Arcadia slid down from the horse far less gracefully than the warrior and pressed herself tight to the stone, squeezing between a crevice. She studied Link's ready fighting form with wide, panic-stricken eyes and darted her gaze up to the sky. The devils droned loudly, a sound that at the time seemed far more intimidating than any shriek or roar, and plummeted. Link dove under his shield, deflecting the talons of two while slashing at the third. The bird gave a small shriek of pain as Link's whirling blade sliced through its legs. The bird fell back, flapping close to the ground and looking for an opening as Link fought off its comrades. One Kargarok shot into the air, and while a second was debating its next move the hero ended his primitive thoughts by cleaving off the creature's head with a powerful slice. In the aftermath of the move, before Link had totally regained his bearings, the third animal made his move. Link's shield arm had slipped, a side effect of his two years' peace. The bird's bleeding legs shot out and its talons clutched Link like a vice through his tunic. The man cried out as the sharp claws tore at the skin of his chest, shoulders, and belly, and cleaved wildly at the flapping creature's legs before it could try and lift him off the ground.  
Arcadia screamed and pushed out of the rocks to his aid, and another Kargarok -the one who had taken flight before Link had killed its companion- descended upon her. It ripped at the shoulders of her shirt, but clutched only fabric. A blade flashed, and the girl's previously neglected knife was baptised in the Kargarok's blood. It was a shallow wound in the creature's thigh, but it made the creature hesitate long enough for a more powerful foe to end his life.

The bird that had attacked Link was cleaved almost in half some feet away, and the man now pulled his bloodied sword from the chest of the last. Arcadia was breathing erratically in her panic, but Link had already begun to regulate his own breaths. He felt shameful at having made such a rookie mistake, and knew that the burn of his cuts would remind him constantly until they healed. The man wiped the blood from his sword onto the body of the nearest bird and looked up at the panting girl.

"Are you alright?" he asked, trying to calm his voice.

"I'm fine..." she breathed. "But you're not."

Link denied the statement even as his own blood stained the front of his tunic. The girl dropped her knife numbly and neared him.

"Don't worry about it," Link grunted, and whistled for Epona, who had retreated to a safe distance. "I'll take care of it... Renado thought we might have trouble and had Luda pack some bandages."

Arcadia tore through the saddlebags before Link had the chance, and gently pushed at Link's shoulders to have him sit on a nearby rock. Her fearful, pale expression had all but vanished and was replaced by one that was almost... motherly. Link decided that she must have known what she was doing, and peeled off his tunic, and then his long linen undershirt. The long gashes going down his front were throbbing and angry, and the man hissed when Arcadia pressed a wettened cloth to them, mopping up his blood. She pulled the reddened object away and poured more water over it.

"Thank you," the girl murmured quietly.

"Thank you for bandaging me," Link replied.

"That's just about all I can do for now," Arcadia stated, wrapping his torso tightly with the clean white bandages. Blood still oozed from the wounds, but slowed considerably at the pressure applied. "I'm sorry I can't do more. Maybe when we get to the castle I can stitch you up?"

Link shook his head. "That won't be necessary. They're not that deep." He nodded at the saddlebag she had pulled the bandages from. "There should be some herbs in there too. Mix them with what's left of that water."

Arcadia did as she was told, mixing the herbs and water in the canteen. Link took a deep, long draught.

"Mix some for yourself too, with the water from that skin," Link gestured to the skin he had tied to Epona's saddle.

"Don't need any," Arcadia replied. "Thank you though."

_Whatever suits her,_ Link thought, pulling his torn clothes back over himself. "This is as good a time as any to take a rest and eat," he eyed the dead Kargaroks with distaste, "though we might find a more pleasant place to do so."

They crossed the path and descended a low hill, Epona following faithfully behind, and sat under the shade of an oak tree. Link relieved the mare of her saddle, blanket, and bridle, and let her graze freely nearby. From the saddlebags Link pulled the lunch Luda had been so kind to pack. The warrior rationed out the apples, bread, cheese, and dried meat that made up the meal. His burning front kept him berating himself while he ate. He had left his bow, his boomerang, his mail... Everything that he could need was still in his treehouse in Ordon. He was foolish.

"How did you learn to fight?" Arcadia asked, breaking up his self deprecating thoughts.

Link spared a glance at the quiet lady as she took a large hunk off of an apple.

"A friend taught me initially how to use a sword. Then... Well, I had to perfect my technique on my own."

"Luda told me you saved the world."

Link flushed. "It wasn't just me," he said modestly. "I had help."

Arcadia nodded, satisfied with the answer. "You think you'll have to save the world again," she then presumed.

Link chuckled. "I hope not. Saving the world isn't the easiest job."

The girl laughed lightly. "I reckon not."

Arcadia's eyes were drawn to his torn and bloodied clothes.

"How much does it hurt?" She asked, stormy eyes meeting his own sapphire orbs.

Link didn't know how to answer. He shrugged. "It's not... the worst," he tried to explain. But the girl before him had never been wounded so badly, had never fought with her own blood pouring down her sides or legs. She had never such pain.

Arcadia seemed to understand what he was thinking, and lowered her head. They continued to eat in silence, each unsure of what to say to the other. So much for finding common ground...

"Here," Arcadia untied her bundle of clothes from the saddle and produced the heavy cloak Luda had lent her. When Link gave her an odd look, she explained. "They won't let you into town torn apart and smeared in gore. This'll hide your clothes."

Link thanked her, glad she had solved the problem before it had risen. He stood stiffly, grimacing at the deep gashes hidden by his bloody tunic. He whirled the cloak around, a grand move, and settled it on his shoulders. He fiddled with the fastening for a few minutes before the girl stood and clasped it just over his collarbone and arranged it so that he could still draw his sword, though his shield could not be reached.

Arcadia stepped back to study him and laughed aloud. Link looked down. The cloak had been made for a woman only slightly taller than Arcadia, Luda's mother most likely, and as the girl herself was a head shorter than he, the cloak ended at the tops of his boots. The man chuckled.

"I look ridiculous."

Arcadia was careful to neither confirm nor deny the statement and offered to try and fix the cloak so that it didn't seem quite so short.

"It'll be fine," Link assured. "Nobody should notice, and I'll have a friend fix me up with something else before our audience with the Princess."

Their lunch break was over. Link's features were hard and ready as he announced this, as if he expected more dangers to come along the way. Epona was saddled again, and soon the group was again off on their journey. The castle was still several hours away. There was no further drama, however, and the pair of mismatched humans were left to stew in their own uninterrupted thoughts. As the sun was setting, they found themselves on the long bridge over Lake Hylia. Arcadia took a peek over the edge of the bridge and shuddered, hand tightening around the cloth of Link's cloak.

"Afraid of heights?" he asked without looking over his shoulder.

"Not heights," the girl replied. "Water."

Link didn't question the girl's strange misgivings, but urged Epona into a faster trot along the bridge. The sun had already fallen beyond the horizon, and darkness was becoming ever thicker as the moon slid into the sky. Somewhere far off over the field a wolf howled. Link was just as calm now as he was in the daylight. Epona was urged into an easy lope for time's sake, and within another hour they were facing Castle Town. A boy no older than ten appeared from seeming nowhere, offering a stable for Epona.

"Best prices in Castle Town, mister," the boy persuaded, a small hand outstretched for the reins.

"Bed and feed?" Link asked warily, keeping the reins tight in his left hand.

"Only the best."

"Take us there."

The boy took off down an alley, happy to have made a sale. Link clicked his tongue at his steed and they followed the boy down several empty back streets before coming up to a boarding stable. The man who ran the stable met them by the door. He was a brawny fellow, rough-looking and dark-complexioned. When he spoke, however, his voice was gentle.

"Your mare need a place for the day?" he asked.

"If she'll get a good dinner here. Your boy says this is one of the best places in Castle Town," Link replied, sliding out of the saddle smoothly.

The man laughed heartily. "That boy, that boy... We're a good place, mister, you can count on that. Only place better is the royal stables. Name's Lars."

"Link." The pair shook hands and Arcadia slipped off the horse to land beside the hero. "And Arcadia. If you'll let me settle her down," Link patted Epona's neck, "I'll get out of your hair. What's your rate?"

"Fifteen rupees a night, and that's with a good feeding and anything else she needs," Lars replied, leading the trio through the stable doors.

Six horses looked up from their stalls when the door closed. Their nostrils flared and ears swiveled, attention focused on the newcomer and her humans. All were well cared for in the warm building. When Lars stopped before an empty stall he watched his customer eye the space critically.

"I don't see anything wrong with fifteen rupees," Link consented, withdrawing the sum and paying the man.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Link," Lars replied, pocketing the money.

When Epona had been settled, Link and Arcadia hit the streets. Night had left the streets and the square almost empty, though loud and raucous laughter and gaiety could be heard from several taverns down different roads. The pair traveled down the south roads and stopped at a more secluded bar. Link paused at the doors, listening to hearty laughter ringing from within, some cheering, and a touch of argument. The hero pushed his way into the building, Arcadia following like a small child. The laugh from before leapt from the lungs of the dark, busty barmaid. She was speaking to a shrivelled old man, refilling his beer mug, when the door opened and the cool night air filtered through the open doorway. The woman looked up, and her painted lips parted in shock at the man who entered her establishment.

"Link, honey!" Telma called happily. "How good to see you again! What brings you 'round this time?"

Without warning, Link was enveloped in a hug from the good woman. He groaned, a tiny, but still perceptible sound. Telma put him down worriedly and gave him a look.

"Don't tell me you're hurt."

Link gave a small grin, making Telma shake her head, hands on her hips. "Come on to the back room, sweetie. Raya will be fine taking care of these boys for a few minutes."

Telma beckoned them along, and they entered a dark back room. She lit several lanterns, casting a warm glow in the small space.

"Who's your friend, sweetie?" Telma asked as Link unclasped the cloak hiding his clothes.

"Her name's Arcadia. We've an audience with Zelda tomorrow," Link replied.

"Monsters again?"

Telma dug through a chest for some better clothing, and tossed a pair of breeches his way. Link stepped behind a divider to change. Telma studied the tears in the lad's cloak and shirt, tossing them aside when he came out from behind the divider in the clean new breeches and his bandages. Stray patches of light red stained the cloth where he had bled through, and discomfort was evident on his face. Telma sighed and dug through a different chest to find clean bandages. Link sat down on a nearby box.

"They've come back," Link stated solemnly, the familiar hardness turning his eyes to blue steel. "They're stronger now, and smarter. _Kargaroks_ did this."

Telma told her friend in conspiratorial tones that he still had _friends_ in Hyrule that would be more than happy to help him fight whatever darkness was coming. Link nodded appreciatively at the woman and glanced over to Arcadia. Telma flicked her eyes from the hero to the girl. Link wouldn't have brought her along if she wasn't anything important.

"What's your story, honey?" Telma asked, eyeing the quiet child from the side as she unwound the soiled bandages from Link's torso.

"Link saved me from monsters in the field," she replied simply. "I don't recall much about anything, but here I am."

Telma gave a grim smile. "We have some experience in that department, don't we?" She asked Link.

Link gave a tight nod. Ilia's memory had come back when she lost it, but she was... different now. She could recall everything just fine, but emotionally she reacted differently. She had lost a lot of herself, though she would never truly know. Link lowered his eyes and watched Telma's experienced hands as she pulled aside the last bandage. Bloodied wads of cloth landed in Link's lap, no longer being held in place by the tight bandages.

"You did good, Arcadia," Telma stated, assuming that she had been the one to bandage the lad.

"Anything I can do to help y'all?" the girls asked hesitantly in reply.

Telma chuckled. "Eager to work, are ya?"

Arcadia nodded quickly and wordlessly.

Standing, Telma found a large tin tub. "There's a well around back. If you can fill the tub, I'll have you wash Link's tunic and shirt. Then if you can sew, I'll give you a needle and let you repair them."

Arcadia left the room with a bucket, and set about filling the tub without anything to say. As soon as she was gone, Telma looked up at her friend. "Can you trust her?"

Link looked toward where the girl had left. "I think so. She wouldn't ever be much of a threat. She can't fight, and isn't very strong."

Telma nodded, but didn't speak. She took a clean rag and poured a small amount of whiskey over it. Link gritted his teeth and flared his nostrils to keep from groaning as the fiery liquid burned his wounds clean. Arcadia returned with the bucket full of water and sloshed it into the tub. She breathed deeply and paused for a brief second before striding out the door again. Telma kept cleaning the gashes.

"She's hurt. Bokoblins stabbed her in the shoulder," Link said in a tight voice when Telma poured more whiskey over the rag.

"She's carrying the water fine. It must be healing pretty fast," Telma replied.

"Renado's been taking care of her."

The woman tittered, and a slight color came to her cheeks. "He's good at what he does."

Arcadia entered again, heaved water into the tub, and left without a word.

When Telma deemed the cuts clean enough, she pressed pads of cloth to them, pushing Link back to where he sat at an angle and the pads could rest without falling. She then took long bandages and wrapped them tightly around his toned midriff and chest. Link was lucky the wounds weren't deep, or the Kargaroks could have easily injured his internal organs. Link breathed a prayer of thanks under his breath and made to stand, intending to help his traveling companion to fill the tub. Telma pushed him back down, reminding him that his wounds had stopped bleeding, and the goal was to keep them that way.  
Arcadia filled the tub with the next bucket- it was obvious she'd made more trips than they'd thought -and tossed Link's old clothes in. Telma gave her a bar of soap and a washboard and left to fix them some dinner. When the woman opened the door leading out into the bar, it was obvious the establishment had closed while they were in there. One of Telma's barmaids was wiping down tables as a last drunken man stumbled out, and Telma's cat Louise was sitting regally on the bar. The only sounds were of their own breathing and the sloshing of soapy water in the tub as Arcadia scrubbed the blood, dirt, and sweat stains out of his clothes. She had finished his shirt and had started on his tunic when Telma came in bearing a tray laden with fried cuccoo, potatoes, and cabbage, two cups and a flagon of ale.

"Now honey, I'll finish that washing. You eat," Telma offered.

Arcadia shook her head. "I can finish it," she meekly replied without looking up from the tunic. Her stomach gorlwed audibly, but she ignored the sound, and ignored its rumbling.

Telma opened her mouth to argue, but shut it again. She looked at Link. "Have you got a room for the night?"

The man shook his head. Telma pulled two folding cots out of a corner and set them up.

"You're staying here then. I'll have Raya heat some water in the morning so you can wash the dust of your travels off." She eyed Arcadia in her dusty travelling clothes. "Do you have anything nicer to wear tomorrow?"

Arcadia nodded over to her bundled dress on the floor nearby. Telma bent to pick it up and unrolled it, shaking dust off.

"These'll do you just fine, I'll hang them up for you."

With those words and a farewell, Telma was gone. Arcadia still focused her attention on the tunic, scrubbing out the last of the stubborn bloodstains. When it was done, she slung it over the edge of the tub with his shirt and gave his breeches a quick once over, though they were in considerable better shape.

"You didn't have to keep cleaning them," Link informed her. "Telma has an extra set of clothes that fit me, and was willing to do it herself."

"Nonsense," Arcadia replied, wringing out the sopping articles of clothing. "I've got it just fine, there ain't a reason for me've not to finish. If you'll excuse me right quick, I'll go rinse these and hang 'em up to dry."

Link didn't move to stop her, but when she returned he helped her throw out the bloody, sudsy wash water. The girl gave a deep sigh of relief, knowing her duty was done, and they returned to the back room they had been so generously given. Arcadia saw the untouched tray of food and sent Link a brief glare, hands on her hips, for not eating yet. Link just shook his head at her. It would've been wrong to eat while she was hungry and working. They ate quietly, sitting on the cots with the tray on their knees in between to form a table. Link wished they had something to talk about to chase away the oppressive silence.

"How's your shoulder?" He finally asked, looking over a cup of ale.

"Just fine, just fine," Arcadia replied. "Y'all knew it wasn't too deep."

She fell again into her silence, stabbing vainly at a leaf of cabbage before scooping it onto her fork.

"What are you going to tell the Princess?" She asked finally.

He would tell Zelda about the monsters returning, about how intelligent and strong the monsters had become. He would advise a course of action to prepare the kingdom, and when the time came, he would fight just as he had his friends would be at his side. And what about her? Arcadia would ask. She would be a hindrance in battle; a distraction. Link mulled over his options. The castle wouldn't be a good place for her. She was too meek to hold up working in the bar. Kakariko didn't seem like an ideal choice either.

"There are good people in Ordon. Maybe you can stay there with them," Link thought aloud. "They love a friendly face and a hand that's willing to work."

_Yes,_ he thought. _Ordon would be a good place for her._ An out of the way, friendly place, where she could forget there would be a war raging. Less than an hour later, the lanterns were out and the room was dark. On their respective beds each person rested, awaiting the events of the day to come.

* * *

**_A/N: Real quick, I'm not sure if I've captured Telma the way everyone else imagines her- I personally imagine her as Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke. The entire thing won't be as slow as this either, this is just how I'm starting out. You'll get more action soon, I promise, and we'll dive on in._**


End file.
